At Year End, Majority (55%) Disagrees That Canada's Minority Government is Working Well

Toronto, ON - It's been a tumultuous year on Parliament hill. One year ago, Prime Minister Stephen Harper prorogued parliament to avoid imminent defeat at the hands of an opposition coalition, and now there are rumours of another prorogation until after the Olympics, likely to deflect criticism away from the Afghanistan detainee issue. A new Ipsos Reid poll conducted on behalf of Canwest News Service and Global Television has revealed that Canadians aren't too pleased with the progress that politicians in Ottawa made this year, perhaps as a result of more political posturing than actual substance emanating from Parliament Hill over the last twelve months.

A majority (55%) of Canadians `disagrees' (18% strongly/37% somewhat) that `the minority government in Ottawa is working well'. Conversely, 45% `agree' (6% strongly/39% somewhat) that it is working well. Likely a function of this perceived lack of effectiveness, only three in ten (28%) `agree' (3% strongly/25% somewhat) that `politicians in Ottawa got a lot done this year', while most (72%) `disagree' (22% strongly/50% somewhat) that they did.

It appears that Canadians either don't believe the political leadership is the problem, or that a new set of leaders wouldn't be any different than the current batch, as a majority (62%) `disagrees' (22% strongly/40% somewhat) that `if we elect a new set of political leaders to the Federal Parliament things will be better'. Still, four in ten (38%) `agree' (10% strongly/28% somewhat) that this would improve the situation in Ottawa.

The data also revealed that Canadians don't hold their political leaders in particularly high regard. Just one in three (34%) `agree' (7% strongly/27% somewhat) that they would `encourage any family member to run for public office because it is a noble calling'. In fact, most (66%) `disagree' (26% strongly/40% somewhat) that they'd encourage a family member to run for office because it is a noble calling.

All in all, perhaps as a culmination of the political posturing, antics, attack ads, and the constant threat of an election, one in three (33%) `agree' (11% strongly/21% somewhat) that they've `tuned out of participating in any kind of political activity, including voting', while two in three (67%) `disagree' (36% strongly/31% somewhat), suggesting that they're in it for the long haul.

These are some of the findings of an Ipsos Reid poll conducted on December 9th and 10th, 2009, on behalf of Canwest News Service and Global National. For this survey, a national sample of 1,038 adults from Ipsos' Canadian online panel was interviewed online. Weighting was then employed to balance demographics and ensure that the sample's composition reflects that of the adult population according to Census data and to provide results intended to approximate the sample universe. A survey with an unweighted probability sample of this size and a 100% response rate would have an estimated margin of error of +/-3.1 percentage points 19 times out of 20 of what the results would have been had the entire population of adults in Canada been polled. All sample surveys and polls may be subject to other sources of error, including, but not limited to coverage error, and measurement error.

Country Split on Whether the Minority Government is Working Well...

While 55% disagree that the minority government in Ottawa is working well, 45% agree that it is. But there are clear lines of demarcation across the country:

• A majority of Canadians living in Saskatchewan and Manitoba (61%), Alberta (53%) and British Columbia (52%) believe the minority government is working well. However, minorities of those living in Atlantic Canada (48%), Ontario (44%) and Quebec (36%) believe this is the case.
• Men (51%) are more likely than women (40%) to believe the minority government is working well.
• Those aged 55+ (53%) are more likely than those aged 35 to 54 (43%) or less than 35 (39%) to believe the minority government is functioning well.

Few Believe Politicians in Ottawa Got a lot Done This Year...

Just 28% of Canadians believe that politicians in Ottawa got a lot done this year, but some are more likely than others to think so:

• Nearly one half (47%) of Albertans think that politicians in Ottawa were productive this year, and they are significantly more likely than those living in Saskatchewan and Manitoba (36%), Ontario (28%), British Columbia (26%), Quebec (22%) and Atlantic Canada (22%) to think so.
• Younger (34%) and older (31%) Canadians are more likely to think that politicians were productive this year when compared to middle-aged individuals (23%).
• Men (28%) and women (29%) were equally as likely to think our federal politicians got a lot done.

New Leaders Wouldn't Solve the Problem, One in Three are Tuning Out...

While 38% believe that if we elect a new set of political leaders to the federal parliament things will be better, 62% believe that they would not. Interestingly, younger Canadians (49%) are by far the most likely to believe that this would help, compared with fewer middle-aged (34%) or older (32%) Canadians.

One in three (33%) have tuned out of participating in any kind of political activity, including voting, while two in three (67%) are still in the game:

• Women (38%) are significantly more likely than men (27%) to say they've tuned out.
• Younger (42%) and middle-aged (36%) Canadians are more likely to say they've tuned out when compared to those over the age of 54 (21%).

Majority (66%) Disagrees That They'd Encourage a Family Member To Run for Office, Politics is a Noble Calling...

Just one in three (34%) say they'd encourage a family member to run for office since it is a noble calling, while a clear majority (66%) disagrees that they'd do this. Some are more likely than others to encourage this particular calling to a family member:

• Quebecers (45%) are by far the most likely to say they'd encourage a family member to run for political office because it is a noble calling. Those in Saskatchewan and Manitoba (36%), Ontario (34%), British Columbia (29%), Alberta (24%) and Atlantic Canada (24%) are less likely to say so.
• Men (40%) are much more likely than women (29%) to say they'd encourage a family member to this calling.
• Older Canadians (39%) are more likely than younger (34%) or middle-aged (31%) individuals to say they'd encourage a family member to enter into politics because it's a noble calling.

For more information on this news release, please contact:
John Wright
Senior Vice President
Ipsos Public Affairs
(416) 324-2002
[email protected]

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